Not long after their triumphant The Threepenny Opera (and the not-so-triumphant Wall Street crash of 1929), Bertolt Brecht and his close collaborator Elisabeth Hauptmann began assembling Saint Joan of the Stockyards from the spare parts of Happy End, the critically maligned follow-up to Threepenny (both with music by Kurt Weill). The story was heavily influenced by Brecht’s first dip into Marxism, not to mention Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan......

Yeesh, there sure are a lot of new movies out this weekend. Choose wisely and you will be well rewarded. In a shameless bid for our "penguins are cute" bias, Warner Brothers releases the animated Happy Feet about singing and tap dancing Emperor Penguins. If only furry black and white birds who rap to Stevie Wonder beats weren't so darn adorable! If you're still in Arrested Development withdrawal, the hilarious Will Arnett stars in Bob......

- The Meatrix folks are at it again. This time, in The Meatrix 2 1/2, Moopheus and the gang expose the many dangers of industrial slaughterhouses. The short is produced by Sustainable Table and is designed to help promote the upcoming release of the movie version of Fast Food Nation. - If the Meatrix isn't enough to get you motivated to eat meat produced outside of the industrial agribusiness complex, we'd suggest that you read......

Foodies attack the silver screen! In today's Times Arts & Leisure section, the long history and current feast of food in film is given another look. Would there have even been a Big Night if not for the food? In the coming months, Russell Crowe, the first person we think of when the phrase "good taste" coming up, will star as a man who inherits a vineyard and Nora Ephron is working on an adaptation......

SFist commeters pose for before and aftershocks when the mayor commemorates a 1906 earthquake...at 4:30 in the morning. A hot tip on the Chronicle vending machines comes in and the SFist war correspondent risks life and limb to post this dispatch from the frontlines. Houstonist announces their new Cops spinoff "World's Funniest Tazer Videos" and the possible cancellation of their pervs' "World's Grossest Bathroom Videos" and PBS trains cams on cows at, uhg, Mootube. Also,......

Spiderman 3 Director Sam Raimi announced that lanky 70’s Show guy has just joined Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunset in the cast of Spider-Man 3. "Topher Grace is an extraordinarily talented actor," said Raimi, "and will be perfect for the complexities of the role we are developing." Columbia Pictures has not yet confirmed his specific role, but many speculate that in addition to Sideways' Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman, Topher will play a villain.......

We've read "Fast Food Nation." We've seen "Super Size Me." And, we've been queasy about fast food monoliths like McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell ever since. But, does fast food always have to mean bad food? (Not that Mickey D's fries aren't tasty - It's just that a large portion contains 520 calories, with 220 of those calories coming from fat.) Well, it looks like McDonald's has found its saving (gourmet and good-for-you) grace......

What's really wrong with processed foods? I enjoy them for the convenience and, I’ll admit it, the taste. If it was really so bad for me, would the U.S. government allow it to be sold everywhere? Mike, Brooklyn While it’s fine to run for the border every now and again, you shouldn’t make it a regular habit (ie. every meal). The USDA dietary guidelines recommend eating a diet high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables,......

Gothamist doesn't need to be told twice to see a documentary about a man committing liver kamikaze by eating McDonald's food for 30 days straight, in Super Size Me. Since it premiered at Sundance, Morgan Spurlock's documentary about his attempt to emulate the diet of the average American (in McDonald's eyes, at least, as it was partly due McDonald's claims that their food was healthy that Spurlock embarked on this project) while trying to stay......

My husband wants to buy a Hummer, environment be damned. I'm against it, but so far he hasn't been persuaded by my arguments against buying one. I've tried presenting him facts on gas mileage and how much space a giant SUV would take up in our small neighborhood, but his mind is made up. Gimme some ammo! Patty, Brooklyn Try reading High and Mighty by former New York Times Detroit bureau chief Keith Bradsher. It's......